Monthly Archives: May 2009

Friday morning, I worked diligently setting up my first baby shower here in Texas. I enjoy hosting women’s events, bridal showers, teas, birthdays, etc. Ann has convicted me of making do and I did not have my copper or silver cleaner after our move from Arizona. We were not able to move any cleaning supplies, so it was another case of having to make do. I learned through a quick Google search that adding a cup of vinegar and a cup of salt to a large boiling pot of water would remove the tarnish from my copper tea kettle. The instructions were so simple it was hard to believe: “Boil item in pot for two hours. ” HAHA …are you kidding me? Two hours later I was astounded to see my kettle looking presentable for the shower.

I pulled out my silver and tried the same thing. I learned in my search that I could line a pan with foil, pour baking soda all over the item and top off with boiling water to cover. Once again I thought there was no way this could work. I save foil because my husband’s grandmother who lived during the Great Depression taught me the value of reusing foil by cleaning and saving it. I have a hard time reusing it, but I am persisting in my effort to honor her frugality. To my suprise yet again, I waited and watched all the tarnish fall off a pan full of silverware. How could this be? Why had I wasted so much of my time in the past polishing?

My backyard in Texas is a wonderland for two particularly playful squirrels that cause us to laugh hysterically from time to time. The male squirrel is all guy, and you can tell that spring is in full bloom where he is concerned as day after day he seeks to swoon his lady, putting on his best little Fred Astaire dance for Little Miss Lady, the Ginger Rodgers of the backyard ballroom. Forget Dancing WithThe Stars, we have Dancing With The Squirrels, only their’s is a three dimensional dance floor that extends into the trees and from roof top to roof top. Fred lays around all day on our oak tree as if depressed, his arms and legs dangle from the branches of his perch unless he gets hungry, at which point he gets off his wooden couch at goes foraging for something to eat (You ladies know what I’m talking about). Its funny, whenever his lady friend shows up its as if someone cued the lights and said “action!” Then, wow, what a performance: leaping and chirping loudly at our dog Daisy from his tree perch as if saying “beat it dog, my lady just arrived.” On one particular day he stood up on two legs and began to shake his booty from side to side, tail flickering in the wind and swaying from side to side. I could almost hear Luther Vandrose and Lou Rawls singing backup for the little guy. It didn’t take a squirrel expert to help me realize that romance was in the air. Our ill informed desert dog Daisy, who never saw a squirrel until our recent move, has no idea what to think, nor did she care, Fred and Ginger were about ready to start dancing…

I suppose I always thought squirrels were squirrels wherever you went, but not so. Their sizes and shaped differ wherever you live. And if my back yard Lothario is any indication, they have different dispositions. In Arizona they had “ground squirrels”, small and cheerful little guys who like their name implies, live in the ground. They lacked the size and bushy tails of their eastern cousins, and look more like Chip and Dale than any squirrel I’ve have ever laid eyes on.

In Iowa where I grew up, the squirrels look pretty standard, except for their beautiful black fur, unique to that area. Growing up I took it for granted that all, or most, squirrels were this color as it was all I knew. I still love watching those beautiful black squirrels in the evenings with my Mom from her courtyard whenever I am home visiting. We often will sit into the early evening until the sun sets and it is too dark to see them, but giggling at their cheerful play together as the baby squirrels leap from branch to branch until then. I find myself wondering if they’ll miss, but with skillful dexterity, they never do.

God has given us the ability to jump from unbelief to belief…we are called to faith and called to trust. Like the branches of a tree God’s hand is there when we take leaps of faith into His perfect will.

As I watch our dancing squirrels jump from my neighbor’s roof to a trellis, I am reminded of the woman warrior in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (if you have not seen the movie, envision the jumping off the dunes at Kitty Hawk aka Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first flight.), stealthily moving from limb to limb as if defying gravity, and I find myself wondering if perhaps Texas has flying squirrels… They are wonderful examples of God’s delicate, and intricate design, beautiful, sleek, agile, playful, yet taken for granted as the little scavengers of the back yard.

So here is my question for you today. On May 15th Oswald Chambers wrote:

“God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly-” He then cites Psalm 18:29 “By my God I can leap over a wall”

Outrageous to think we metaphorically may look at challenges and literally jump off Jockey’s Ridge at Kitty Hawk with God offering Him praise and thanksgiving for the situation.

He asks that we believe. Believing Him for the outlandish desires of our hearts. Be the squirrel says HE. Be Orville or Wilbur. Jump

“The things that are impossible with men are possible with You.” Luke 18:27 NKJV

The neighborhood book club met recently and our hostess Mary, passed out Tahini to all of us in the club as our starter. My family really likes hummus, and we often nosh through serious amounts of it. Yours truly decided to make a batch from scratch. By volume it was more of a vat. On the wall of my extremely talented friend Cecilia Tompkins ( my former Bible-study co-leader who also quilts, knits, embroiders, models in commercials, parents 3 boys and is a sewer extraordinaire) was her admission to whipping up a batch. What is a Mom to do? Cuisinart some for the Southards. Two hummus billboards showed themselves and I was up for the challenge. Off to the HEB market, first to snag a few bags of various beans for the pantry and a bag of garbanzos (chick peas) for the hummus. Our neighborhood book club read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and we are encouraging each other to cook fresh items for our families. The recipe we all used is from Magloubeh and the Great Diplomat.

“Start the Party ” Hummus

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas…I made my own as you’ll see below

2 tablespoons of olive oil…4 or 5 is better if you cook up a 1/2 bag of beans like I did

Juice of two lemons

3 cloves of garlic… I used prechopped and added 5 tablespoons

1/2 cup of tahini

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salt to taste

Threw the beans in my crock pot and cooked them all day on low. They did not cook thoroughly, very chewy, and for the last two hours I cranked the pot to high and the beans caught a few bubbles and softened finally. Throw about 1/2 the beans in a large food processor and whirl away. Add a few splashes of evoo, the rest of the above ingredients and serve with warm pita. Rona Mertink brought by fresh radishes from her garden, a perfect companion for hummus, and dip away.